Taipei 'smoke-free city' plan legally feasible: Health minister

Taipei, March 16 (CNA) An initiative announced in January by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) to limit smoking in public places in the city this year is legally feasible, Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said Monday.

Under Chiang's "smoke-free city" plan, smoking would be banned in public spaces except for smoking areas or rooms set up by the city.

Shih said such a plan was legally feasible because Taiwan's Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act authorizes competent authorities, including local governments, to designate certain outdoor locations as smoke-free areas while setting aside spaces where smoking is allowed.

The law does not require the installation of smoking rooms in outdoor areas but does not prohibit such facilities either.

In outdoor areas where smoking is already prohibited, such as sports venues, designated smoking areas may still be provided, Shih said.

These designated areas can take the form of either open smoking zones or enclosed smoking rooms, with ventilation standards that are less stringent than those required for indoor facilities, he said.

The act strictly bans smoking in indoor public spaces, he said.

Also on Monday, Chiang said his city is evaluating the installation of negative-pressure smoking rooms in the Zhongshan shopping district and Ximending areas as the next step of its "smoke-free city" initiative.

Chiang said smoke-free outdoor zones implemented at the Taipei Lunar New Year Market in Datong District and the Taipei Lantern Festival showed that such measures can be carried out successfully, and he thanked local businesses and residents for their support.

According to a 2024 survey by the Health Promotion Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the rate of exposure to secondhand smoke in Taiwan was 48.9 percent.

It found that outdoor passages, including roads, streets and covered sidewalks, were the most common places where exposure occurs.